Starting in January, the state will require FBI background checks, which include fingerprints, for child care providers, their employees and household members

Starting in January, the state will require FBI background checks, which include fingerprints, for child care providers, their employees and household members.

You can be forgiven if you thought: Don't they already do that? The answer is no.

Wisconsin is one of 15 states that currently don't require FBI background checks for child care providers in licensed centers and one of 17 states that don't require them for licensed centers in family homes, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General report, "Child Care and Development Fund: Monitoring of Licensed Child Care Providers."

The state does require child care provider background checks of state criminal records, the child abuse registry, and the sex offender registry. Those who provide child care in their home are required to do a juvenile records check, too.

But in neither setting are state and federal fingerprints checked, unless an applicant has lived outside the state for the previous three years.

In 2014, background checks that include fingerprinting will be required for "all child care providers, their employees, their nonclient residents and any other caregivers who assist them," according to a Legislative Fiscal Bureau report in May.

This is good news for parents. While criminal background checks might weed out some people you wouldn't want watching your child, they're not foolproof.

If someone changes his or her name or there are two people with the same name, a simple background or registry check might not catch them. Fingerprints, however, are unique.

But fingerprints will not identify abusers who have never been caught before. Parents need to beware and do their due diligence when checking out potential child care providers for their children.

They are entrusting their children to caregivers who they hope will keep their children safe.

The vast majority of child care providers do a wonderful job of providing a safe place, and many provide a mentally and physically enriching experience as well.

Cases of child abuse are rare, but parents still need to be aware. Adding fingerprinting to the background checks is just another way that we can help protect our kids.